Bet On It
by clagjanet
Summary: Sequel to "Sometimes the Best Stories". For those who wondered what did happen at the Christmas party. Can mostly stand alone, but will make more sense if you've read some of my previous contributions.
1. Bet on it

The disclaimer: none of these characters belong to me; they belong to Shoot the Moon Enterprises and Warner Bros to whom I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to take them out for a spin and bit of light humour.

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 **Betting on a great Christmas**

It took Lee longer than Amanda thought it would. She was working inside the vault almost three days after the bar stakeout when she heard him call out from his desk in the Q Bureau in a voice that was just a little too casual.

"Hey did you hear Dave finally asked Roxanne out?"

"No I hadn't" she answered, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. "But I heard that Leatherneck's been hanging around Research a little more often."

She only had time to count to three and then:

"Amanda? When is the Christmas party this year?"

"Next Thursday. Why? Are you actually thinking of showing up this year?"

"Um, yeah, I thought I might'

Amanda smiled to herself "Yeah, I thought you might too."

Lee appeared in the door of the vault and leaned in to drop a light kiss on her lips. "Well, you girls made it sound like so much fun with your war stories the other night, how could I resist showing up to watch?"

Amanda chuckled as she slid the files back in the drawer and pulled him further into the vault so she could put her arms around him. "I still wish I could have seen your face when I said Bela Spivak was a good kisser. Leatherneck told me you actually fell off your chair."

"Well, I'd leaned forward to hear better and it sort of slipped out from under me, but yeah, it must have been pretty funny. But if we're talking things we missed, I wish I could have seen the Grabber's face when you jabbed him with the shrimp fork." Lee's face darkened for a moment thinking about that until Amanda pulled him in close for a longer kiss, but they were interrupted by the sound of a quiet knock on the Q Bureau door.

Stepping around him and out of the vault, Amanda unlocked the door and found Katie, the young agent from last week's fake bridal party on the threshold looking anxious. "Katie? Is everything okay?"

"Um, well I'm not sure, and I'm not sure if I should tell someone or not, and I'm not even sure I should be worried, but it all seems kind of creepy and then I thought that since you were there at the bar when it all happened, maybe you were the person to tell." She stopped suddenly, gulping when Lee walked out of the vault and back to his desk.

"Amanda, have you been training the new agents in black belt confusion tactics?" he chuckled as he sat down.

Katie continued to stand there silently, looking from Amanda to Lee and back again with a worried expression. Amanda took her by the arm and led her to the sofa, pushing her to sit down before settling beside her. "Ignore him. He thinks he's cute."

"I am cute."

"Not that cute. Now, what's the problem?"

"Well, you know how you were telling us all those other stories the other night when we were on that stakeout?" Amanda nodded. "Well, Andrew – do you know Andrew? He came through training with me and he's working under Fred Fielder now. Anyway, I was telling him a bit about those stories when we were on lunch the other day – just the true ones – not the ones about…" She stopped again.

"Not the ones about Agent Beaman?" finished Lee, grinning at her. Katie paused, startled. "Katie, on a need to know basis, you should know nobody believed any of those party stories except maybe Dave."

"And Roxanne told him the truth right after he asked her out." added Amanda. "All the guys know we were just making it up for some fun."

"Well, that's just it" said Katie, looking uncomfortable. "Andrew says Mr. Fielder has been telling people those stories and he's got some sort of betting pool going on Mr. Beaman doing something embarrassing at this year's party but he told Andrew he was going to fix it somehow so that he'd win all the money and I think whatever it is will make Mr. Beaman look bad."

"That son-of-a—," Amanda stopped herself from finishing the thought she'd started

Lee started to laugh "Wait, before we go any further, I have to ask, was that two notes, Amanda, or is 'son-of-a—' considered four words?"

Amanda picked up a pillow from the sofa and threw it at him. "Not helpful, Stetson!" She turned back to Katie. "Ok, so what does Andrew say Fred is planning?"

"Well, he thinks it involves Miss Desmond," Katie began, only to be interrupted by a voice from the door.

"Sonovabitch!" Francine was standing in the doorway looking angry.

"Definitely one note that time" said Lee, quietly while Amanda tried not to laugh.

"Spill it, Agent Wright," said Francine, stepping into the room. "What's Fielder up to?" She sat down on the edge of Lee's desk, reaching back without looking to cuff him on the side of his head as he laughed and pretended to fend her off.

"It's not just one thing, that's the problem" said Katie unhappily. "I think he's got a whole bunch of different bets going on who's going to do what but he seems to think he's got some kind of inside line that'll make people lose and I think some of it is from using those stories you were telling the other night." She went on in a rush "And I checked with the other girls and none of us have repeated any of the ones we knew weren't true!"

It was just at that moment that Lee's phone rang. "Stetson" he answered and then his face broke into a grin. "Hey Paul! Are you in town?" He looked over the receiver at Amanda and mouthed "Wizard" before turning back to the phone. "Yeah, I'm free for lunch today – where do you want to meet? The Willard? Sure I can be there in fifteen minutes. Uh, Amanda? I'll check." He looked at Amanda and lifted a brow questioningly but she shook her head and pointed at Katie "No, she can't make it this time – apparently she's on a mission. Ok, see you in a few." He hung up and unfolded his tall frame out of his chair. "I trust you ladies can plan how to take down Fred without me but count me in on any dirty work." He winked at Amanda as he went out the door.

"You can bet on it" said Francine, hardly paying him attention. "Alright, what do we know and how do we make Fred pay?"

Katie was now looking even more worried. "Before we start, there's something you should know about me and Mr. Beaman…"

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Lee found Paul already seated at a quiet table near the back of the restaurant in the Willard Hotel. The booths at the Willard were famous in Washington for being a place where the city's movers and shakers could meet and talk without being overheard.

"Quite the old time spy spot to meet up, Wizard" laughed Lee as Paul stood up to shake his hand.

"Old habits die hard Scarecrow," Paul smiled at him. "And how is the lovely Amanda? I'm sorry she couldn't join us today."

"Amanda's great" Lee grin broadened just a bit as he mentioned her name, a fact not unnoticed by his old mentor. "She would have loved to see you but she and Francine are busy cooking up some karma for one of the office jerks as we speak. So what brings you to town anyway? I thought you were leaving spy work behind?"

"I'm appearing in front of the Senate Committee on Intelligence Organizations – can't really tell you much more than that at the moment." Paul paused before going on, "Did you know Senator Adams is the senior member on the committee though? He mentioned what a great job your Amanda did last week rescuing his daughter at that bar. You guys could probably ask that committee for the moon this week and he'd try and get it for you."

"She was pretty amazing. We didn't get to see it from the surveillance truck but Jeanie Melrose said later she'd never seen a champagne bottle take someone out so effectively since her last family wedding." Both men laughed before Lee went on. "Maybe I should try and get the senator to get Doctor Smyth reassigned. If it wasn't for him, Amanda and I could -" he stopped abruptly and made a show of looking away to read the menu.

"Could what?" prodded Paul "Admit you're involved?" Startled hazel eyes flew up to meet his. "Lee, I'm not an idiot and I've known you a long time. I know what you were like with Dorothy and I've seen how you are with Amanda. Smyth would be an idiot to interfere in what's obviously working."

"Well, he doesn't care for me that much so for now we'll stick with laying low."

"You never were much for brains, Scarecrow. You're one of his most valuable assets. You should just marry your beautiful Amanda and damn the torpedoes." Paul leaned back and stared at Lee who was now studiously staring at his menu again and started to laugh. "You're smarter than I thought then. When did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get married."

Lee put down the menu and looked across the table at his oldest friend. "Are you actually a wizard?"

"I wasn't sure until you gave yourself away just now by checking your left hand when I asked. Now tell me everything."

.

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Lee arrived back to the Q Bureau just as Roxanne and Agnes left it, heading downstairs with intent expressions on their faces.

"I'm afraid to ask," he said, stepping back into the office, smiling at the pleased looks on Amanda and Francine's faces.

"Seems Fred has been very busy telling tales out of school since last week" said Francine. "Roxanne and Agnes are going back downstairs to see what he's taking bets on so we can make sure he loses."

"Anything I can help with?"

"What are you willing to do?"

"Fred once ran off and left me and Amanda alone to disarm a nuclear missile – what wouldn't I do?"

"Funny – that's almost word for word what Amanda said. Okay then! Here's what we have so far…"

.


	2. Word of a Wizard

Amanda was delighted to spot Jeannie Melrose standing outside Billy's office when she arrived at the Christmas party, knowing how much she'd enjoy hearing about all the after effects of that evening out a few weeks before. She glanced around to see if Roxanne had arrived yet as she made her way across the room, but didn't see her or Dave anywhere yet. When she saw Jeanie look past her and start to laugh, she knew without looking that Lee had walked in. Billy had turned to see what had made Jeanie laugh and began to chuckle as well.

"She told me you'd get him here, but I didn't believe it until now" was all he said to Amanda in greeting.

"Well, this was easier than when I tried to get him to stop buying scarves last year." Amanda grinned at the couple. "You can really thank Roxanne and Francine for this one. I just added the nudge. And he's actually here of his own free will – I let him in on the joke pretty soon after." She chanced a look over her shoulder to see Lee perched on a desk in the corner, watching something with a slight smile on his face. He caught her eye and nodded towards something just out of her peripheral vision. Turning her head the other way to see what it was, she realized Efraim was standing with his back to the wall looking decidedly uncomfortable, but trapped in place by a determined looking woman.

"Something wrong, Amanda?" asked Billy

"Only that our party entertainment may have to begin sooner than planned," she answered thoughtfully. "I'd heard our tall tale had gotten out but we didn't think anyone would actually go after poor Efraim thinking it was true, but Leanne is the most notorious flirt in the steno pool."

"Should we do something?" asked Jeannie, but Amanda was already on her way. Walking over to Francine, she hooked her arm with hers and turned her to face the pair by the wall without saying a word.

"Battle stations it is then" said Francine as they set off on a rescue mission.

"Merry Christmas Efraim!" Francine greeted him as they swept up to the couple. He stared at them, an expression of mixed dread and hope on his face. Without a pause, Amanda took the cup of what she suspected was spiked punch out of his hand and replaced it with the cup of ginger ale she'd poured on the way over. Francine was giving Leanne the once over with an expression that would have made most women leave but Leanne was made of sterner stuff. She had watched Francine rebuff Efraim's advances for the last three years and everyone knew Amanda wasn't going to look twice at him when she had Lee Stetson in her claws. The gossip from Fred Fielder was that they'd all been underestimating Efraim for years and she was determined to find out if it was true. She stood no chance, however, against the wiles of the other two.

"Efraim, Amanda was just telling me that you gave a very interesting class the other morning on the way Tom Clancy used hidden codes in "Hunt for Red October". Beaman just stared at Francine, alarm written all over his face.

Amanda stepped in closer and rested her hand on Efraim's arm, looking up at him with a wide-eyed expression. "Yes, you said a statistical analysis of the speech pattern of the Russian characters gave extra insight into the Chechnyan revolution." It was complete nonsense but there was no way Leanne could know that. Amanda fluttered her eyelashes at Efraim, willing him to understand, and felt no small measure of relief when his face cleared.

"Oh no, that's not completely right; it was the way he used Chechnyan ciphers instead of Russian ones" he finally said and then launched into a long speech of baffling gibberish about ciphers that had Leanne's eyes glazing over within seconds. Even after she had huffed in an annoyed way and walked off, Amanda held onto his arm and leaned in close to apologize, hoping it looked like she was flirting.

"Sorry Efraim, you looked like you needed rescuing and the only way you were going to get rid of her was to bore her to death."

Beaman looked back and forth between Amanda and Francine. "Can either of you explain what's going on?" The two of them exchanged guilty looks. Francine spoke first.

"I've got this one Amanda. It's my fault it got this far. You go enjoy the party and I'll man the battlements."

"I'm a battlement?" asked Efraim, indignantly.

"Cheer up! You're not just a battlement, you're also a strategic weapon! Come with me into the copier room, where we can be alone."

Efraim goggled at her. That had been the last invitation he had expected to hear from Francine Desmond, even if she had been a lot nicer to him lately. "As you wish", he croaked out.

Francine face broke into a smile at the movie line. She had taken Efraim out for lunch the week before to apologize to him about using his reputation to tease the boys in the truck and somehow they had ended up spending almost the entire lunch discussing movies. He had obviously remembered her mentioning "The Princess Bride" as a particular favourite. She looked back as Efraim followed her into the copier room. As she started to shut the door, she could see Fred across the bullpen looking dumbstruck. It was easy to read his lips as he said "Aw shit".

"Gotcha!" she said out loud.

"Yeah, you got me. Am I ever going to find out why?"

"Yes, but first you have to tell me what you were doing in here with Roxanne last summer with no shoes and no tie."

Efraim looked affronted. "What do you think we were doing? Just because you aren't interested in me doesn't mean other women aren't!"

Francine stared at him and lifted one brow; after last week's stakeout, Roxanne had told her there was more to the story than that but hadn't elaborated, saying it was Efraim's story to tell. She didn't have to wait long.

"Fine then! I was working late and I had a really terrible cold and I'd taken a Contact C and then this wicked bad headache hit and Roxanne offered me something for that, and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the copier room floor and she had my feet up and my tie off trying to get me to come to."

Francine stared at him – she hadn't actually expected that answer. "What did she give you that mixed so badly with the cold medicine?" Efraim flushed and stared at the floor and muttered something unintelligible. "What did you say?"

"Midol! Okay? She gave me extra-strength Midol and mixed with the other stuff, it made me pass out! And she felt so bad about almost killing me that when Stetson walked in, she let him think we were, well, whatever. Are you happy now?"

There was a long silence and then Francine couldn't hold in the laughter any longer. She collapsed against the copier machine, gasping for breath, but every time she looked at Efraim, she started to laugh harder until finally he had to start laughing along with her. "I wish you'd told me that last year. I might have gone to Greece to raise goats with you much earlier."

"Yeah sure you would. Now why are we in here?"

"It's all Fred's fault. You remember the story I told you over lunch the other day about teasing the guys? Well, Fred's been spreading that story as if it's the gospel truth and that's why Leanne was after you out there. So partly, you're in here to save you from her, and partly because Leatherneck bet him $100 you'd end up in here with me."

"So you're only in here trying to help Leatherneck win a bet?"

"No, I'm trying to make sure Fred loses his shirt tonight. He has bets going on all sorts of people at the party tonight and he's going to lose _all_ of them."

"Well, now this suddenly seems like a great idea. How long do we get to stay in here?"

"Long enough to keep both our reputations interesting, unless you want to go take your chances with Leanne." She smiled when Efraim actually flinched at the thought. "So, in the meantime, why didn't you tell me about Katie Wright?"

Efraim's jaw dropped. "How do you know about her? Billy told me he'd keep it quiet so no one would give her a hard time about working here!"

"You should be thanking her – she's the one who found out what Fred was up to and came to Amanda to fix it. I don't know why she didn't just tell you, but Amanda does seem to have that effect on people." She paused and begun mussing up her hair before running a finger over her bottom lip and then smearing the lipstick on it across his collar. "Ok, loosen that tie and then we can head back out to the party and watch Fred pay Leatherneck. Just stay clear of the punch for the rest of the evening. Fred spiked it." She headed towards the door but paused to look back before adding "Oh, and I should probably mention that Dave has a $200 side bet that you'll also end up back in here with Roxanne tonight. You know, for a spy, Fred is remarkably unobservant about who's dating who around here."

As she opened the door, making it look as if she was readjusting her blouse, she leaned back and blew him a kiss and grinned when she heard Efraim starting to laugh behind her.

.

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"Well hello again Scarecrow! Amanda, we missed you at lunch the other day"

Lee and Amanda turned to find Paul Barnes had walked up behind them with Billy.

"Paul! It's so nice to see you! I'm sorry I missed lunch but we had bad guys to stop." Amanda beamed at him in welcome.

"Chinese? Russians? Iranians?"

"Fred Fielder" said Lee grinning.

"Oh Fred Fielder. That explains it. Billy's told me a lot about Fred over the years." He and Billy exchanged a smile. 'What's he up to now?"

"Well, right now he's busy losing $100 to Leatherneck and based on the way Roxanne is making a beeline for Efraim and the mistletoe, I'd say he's about to lose another $200 to Dave" said Amanda smugly.

Paul looked at Billy and laughed. "Is this how you run your ship around here, Melrose? And if so, how do I get in on it?" he asked.

.

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Fred couldn't understand it. This party was not going at all the way he expected it to, based on previous years. He'd thought the women were kidding last week when they talked about Beaman's reputation as a lothario but based on the smile on Francine Desmond's face, it might actually be true. And why was Roxanne all over him like a cat in heat? He was sure he'd heard she was dating someone, but obviously his intelligence network had gotten it all wrong. He prayed Dave wasn't right – he really didn't want to lose that $200 after he'd already had to fork out part of his Christmas bonus to Leatherneck.

"Having a bad day, Fred? I hope not because I hear you're the guy to talk to about what really goes on in this place" said a voice at his elbow. He turned to find the Wizard standing beside him. Fred was shocked – the Wizard's reputation as an agent was legendary and here he was talking to him _and_ he knew his name.

"Uh, yessir. There's nothing goes on around here that I don't find out about one way or another" he boasted.

"I hear your betting pool for tonight's party is the biggest game in town. Aren't you worried about the Agency Director finding out and getting his knickers in a twist?"

"Nah, he hardly ever comes down here unless it's to bust Billy or Stetson's balls over something. I bet he wouldn't give a good goddamn about what the rest of us are up to."

"That sounds like a more interesting bet than the usual office gossip. Care to make it more interesting still?" Paul pulled two $100 bills out of his wallet. "Two hundred bucks says the Director busts you before Christmas."

Fred's eyes bulged slightly. That was the money he'd just lost to Leatherneck back to him doubled, but then his sense of self-preservation kicked in. "Wait a minute, what do you know? Does Dr. Smyth already know about these little bets I've got going? Are you going to tell him? Because him already knowing or you telling him would make the bet null and void, right?"

Paul continued to wave the bills in front of him. "I solemnly swear that Austin Smyth has absolutely no idea of what you're up to and that any tattling to the Agency Director about your money-maker here will not come because of me. Word of the Wizard." He smiled gently at Fred. "Scared I'll win?"

"No" snapped Fred. He pulled his notepad out of his desk drawer and scribbled the bet down. "But if I ever find out you were the one to spill the beans…" he left the threat unfinished.

"Oh dear me, Fred. I'm the last one who would ever spill the beans about a secret". Paul smiled that odd smile at Fred again and wandered back to the buffet table.

Fred turned in time to watch Roxanne pull a laughing Efraim into the copier room. "Aw shit!" he muttered.

**SMK **SMK **SMK **SMK

Fred was convinced the entire universe was lined up against him. He'd lost $300 already and it looked like he was about to lose another $50 to Agnes over who'd pass out drunk first. How had she known Katie Wright was such a lightweight? All those women had certainly seemed to be pounding them back at the stakeout last week and they'd all remained clear-headed then, hadn't they?

The only bet he had left that would help in not leave the party broke was the bet with Paul Barnes and now, with a sinking feeling, he watched Dr. Smyth walk in the room. That couldn't be good – Dr. Smyth never came to the Christmas party. He turned to look at Paul Barnes who met his eyes and shrugged slightly. He watched as the Director tapped his cigarette holder on a glass until he had everyone's attention.

"Well boys and girls, I have a bit of an announcement for you and I'm sure some among you will see it as a bit of an early Christmas gift." He stopped and blew out cigarette smoke, glaring at Lee Stetson across the room who glared back.

Dr. Smyth had started to talk again. "As some of you may know, the Senate Committee on Intelligence Organizations has been having closed door meetings all this week and some of their decisions affect all of us. Some of us more than others."

Lee swiveled suddenly to look at Paul, who was staring at the floor and smiling slightly.

"What's going on?" asked Amanda, noticing his movement.

"I think the Wizard may be granting Christmas wishes" muttered Lee.

"So I'm here to announce that as of January 1st, I will no longer be the Agency Director. I will be moving back to State Department." He paused looking slightly pained at the ripple of pleased noises that had run through the crowd. "Please don't all cheer at once, children. As I was saying, I will be moving back to State Department and your new Director will begin transitioning into the position immediately. And since we're all gathered here, this seems like a good time to tell you who that will be."

The complete silence in the room as Paul Barnes stepped forward was broken only by Fred's heartfelt "AW SHIT!" and Lee Stetson starting to laugh.

**SMK **SMK **SMK **SMK

"Having a bad day, Fred?" Fred was beginning to dread hearing that sentence at this party. Francine stepped up beside him and perched on the desk he was leaning on. "Did I actually just see you lose money to Agnes from Research? It takes special skills to lose to such a mousy little thing like Agnes. And I heard the new Director tell Billy you owe him $200 too."

"Well you were no help going off with Beaman to have it off in the copier room" groused Fred "If you'd avoided him like you did all the other years, I wouldn't be waving goodbye to my Christmas in the Caribbean right now."

Efraim Beaman suddenly materialized in front of them. "I recognize that look on Francine's face, Fred. You wouldn't be saying nasty things to a lady, now would you?"

Fred was too pissed off with the way his evening was going to care anymore. "Not to a lady, no" he sneered. "And what's the look on her face? Like you scratched her itch in all the right ways?"

"No, the look that says 'Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die'." He smiled at Francine who had started to laugh again.

Fred glared at him, "What the hell are you talking about Beaman? And why do you care anyway? I saw Roxanne all over you half an hour ago – she could probably still smell Desmond's perfume all over you. Who are you going after next? The cute passed-out chickie over there?" he gestured towards Katie and suddenly realized that she was upright, chatting with Amanda and looking remarkably bright-eyed for a girl who had been supposedly passing-out drunk just a few minutes before when he'd been paying off Agnes. Had he been taken for a fool by mousy Agnes and that rookie agent?

Efraim leaned in and spoke quietly. "That cute _chickie_ as you call her is my niece. So you should learn to be more polite to the ladies around here, Fred."

"So that's how she got in here? Because you let her slide through the classes, I bet!' Fred was shouting now, and so he barely heard what Francine was muttering.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya..."

The last thing Fred remembered after that was Efraim's fist connecting with his nose.

**SMK **SMK **SMK **SMK

"So you're really the new boss?" Amanda beamed at Paul.

"I really am," he smiled back. "Are you going to presume on our friendship to start asking for wishes from the Wizard?" He broadened his smile so she knew he was teasing.

"Well, it is Christmas…" she began to laugh.

Paul leaned in closer so that only she could hear him. "So what can Santa bring you this year, Mrs. Stetson?"

Across the room, where he was helping Billy get Fred back on his feet, Lee watched Amanda's expression turn from smiles to shock and then as Paul said something else, her face lit up again. She turned, searching for him in the crowded room, before her eyes met his and saw his smile. They nodded simultaneously, and Lee turned to his friends.

"Ah. Billy? Can we go to your office for a minute? You too, Francine. There's something you both should know."


	3. Santa's got a cat in that bag

**Santa's got a cat in that bag**

It wasn't until Lee followed Billy and Francine into the office that he actually began to think about how difficult a conversation this might be. He turned to shut the door but Amanda stopped him.

"If you close the door, people will start asking questions. Just let the party act as white noise" she whispered.

"Your intuitive agent skills are turning out to be really remarkable Mrs…King," laughed Lee quietly before turning back to look at Billy who was waiting with a questioning look on his face.

"What's up, Scarecrow? You look like someone's suddenly tied your tie too tight."

"It's nothing bad, I'm just not sure what you're going to say about it or about why I – why we – haven't said anything before now."

"About what? You're talking in circles, Lee."

"Maybe I can help" said Paul Barnes from the open doorway. He and Jeanie were standing just outside the office and he motioned for her to go in before following himself.

"Wizard, I mean, Sir, uh, if this is Agency business, I'm not sure if Jeanie should be here, clearance or not," said Billy.

"Billy, you need to start calling me Paul or this is going to be a very poor working relationship. And your wife is here because I think she'll have added insight into this situation," said Paul in his gentle voice before leaning against the bookshelf beside Jeanie. "Now I think what Lee is trying to tell you is that he's taken on another position for the last little while – just part-time I understand – but with the shift in administration, it's clear to me that he should take it up full-time and I'd like you to make sure he gets all the support he needs."

Lee was almost afraid to look at Amanda to see what she made of this masterly description of their marriage, but a quick peek told him she was staring at the ceiling, cheek muscle twitching. Only his familiarity with every nuance of her expressions told him how desperately she was trying not to laugh.

"You've been working in secret at something else and the whole time you've been working for me as well?" Billy sounded like he was equally confused and miffed. "What kind of other job could you have that you couldn't tell me about?" Lee could see when the next thought struck him. "Have you been a mole all this time? Have we been under investigation? Have I?"

Lee rushed to answer him. "No, no, no! Nothing like that! This wasn't an Agency thing, exactly, but it was because of the Agency that we didn't want you to get dragged into it any sooner than you had to. Oh for God's sake, this sounds worse and worse the more I try to figure out how to explain it to you." Lee had now taken up his usual position leaning on the windows and was running his hand through his hair. "Amanda, I could use some help here."

"Oh no, senior agent always gets the b….ad jobs". He couldn't help laughing at the way she skillfully reworded their old joke.

"This is the worst game of 20 questions ever" chimed in Francine from her spot on the far side of the room. "I think Lee's finally trying to tell you he and Amanda got married."

There was a stunned silence while Billy, Lee and Amanda all turned to stare at Francine. No one paid any attention as Jeanie handed Paul a $10 bill. "You're right – she's a very good agent" she murmured to him.

"I know, nothing but the best around here" laughed Paul.

Meanwhile Francine was staring back at Lee and Amanda with raised eyebrows as if surprised by the reaction. "Well, aren't you? You don't have any other bombshells do you?" She paused suddenly as if struck by a thought. "Unless you two are having a baby?"

Lee's "Whaaaaat?" and Amanda's "Francine!" rang out in tandem, followed by Lee adding "Oh my God, no!"

Amanda swivelled back from looking at Francine to look at him. "Oh my God, no? What kind of reaction is that?"

Not sure why he was suddenly under fire, Lee stared at her and stammered "We're not, are we?"

"Of course we're not! But seriously? 'Oh my God no'? What woman wants to hear that?"

Billy interrupted their sparring. "Would one of you please tell me what is going on here? And what is going on with you two?" Lee started to speak but realized that Billy wasn't looking at him for that last question. He turned in time to see Paul handing Jeanie back the $10 bill. "It's all in the hands," Jeanie was saying to him. "You have to watch where a woman rests her hands if you want to be sure." She turned to look at her husband and smile. "You just keep going, darlin'. Paul and I have a few rounds left in this game."

Billy stared at her speculatively for a moment and then went back to looking back and forth between Lee and Amanda, scowling slightly. "Is Francine right?" They both nodded. "And you didn't tell me?"

"We didn't tell anyone, sir" said Amanda apologetically. "My family still doesn't know, or Lee's uncle."

"But Francine knows?" he went on.

"Apparently," answered Lee. "Although I have no idea how." They all turned to look at the person in question.

Francine shrugged slightly and said "Lots of little things really. You were always at each other's houses when we had to find you, your expense sheets stopped showing two rooms when you were under cover which never ever used to happen when you were working with Amanda, and Lee started getting way more attention from the steno pool again."

"I what?"

"He what?"

"Well, to your credit, you didn't even notice it, but you must have been giving off married man vibe because the coffee station gossip really ratcheted up after you came back from California. I think it was the whole Heathcliff look."

Lee was looking mystified but Amanda had started to nod in comprehension. "The mother-me look" she said. "It looks good on him, but I don't want to ever see it again."

"Exactly." Francine went on "And then because I was around both of you so much this year, it was just an accumulation of other evidence, like Efraim making a comment about how your missions must have changed because you hadn't borrowed rings from the fabrication department in months even though I knew you'd been under cover at least three times as a married couple. So one day I told him that Amanda and I had a bet that he couldn't get her to break cover and I got him to call you Mrs. Stetson for three days straight and you never blinked. He was really impressed with your dedication to the cover."

Amanda started to laugh. "I noticed. I just thought he was trying to needle me but it was sort of nice to have someone calling me that, so I just ignored him."

"Anyway," Francine went on "It looks like I wasn't the only one who knew. Our new Director was obviously in on it. And Jeanie."

"Oh, I only found out a few days ago and that was by accident" murmured Paul apologetically. "Lee doesn't stand up as well to needling as Amanda apparently and he, uh, blinked so to speak. How about you?" he went on, turning to Jeanie.

"I didn't know for sure until just now, but, Amanda, did you say your family still doesn't know?"

Amanda nodded.

"Honey, you have got to have a conversation with your boys sooner rather than later. Do you remember the evening I spent with them in the emergency room?" She waited for Amanda to nod again. "Well, Jamie was really missing you and he talked about you a lot and well, based on how he talks about Lee, you should probably clarify a few things with him and Philip."

Amanda looked as if she wanted to ask something more when Billy's voice cut through the room. "So am I the only one in this room who didn't know before now? And why is that?"

"We wanted to tell you! We were going to tell you! Just one thing led to another and then it just seemed better for you not to know." stammered Amanda.

"So you decided on a need to know basis, you thought I didn't need to know this?" Billy's expression was part outrage and part hurt feelings.

"You needed plausible deniability." Lee finally spoke up.

"I needed plausible deniability? What in God's good gravy are you talking about?"

Just at that moment, Dr. Smyth walked up to the open office door and walked in, large tumbler of spiked punch in one hand, cigarette in the other. "Well, Melrose, I'm finally out of here for the last time. Try not to burn the place down with me gone." He turned to Paul and went on "I trust you're not going to let him get away with anything when it comes to his pets?" He gestured towards Lee and Amanda. "He has an unfortunate blind spot when it comes to those two but it does occasionally come in handy when you need leverage to bring him to heel."

Paul stared back at him through narrowed eyes. "I'm going to assume that's the punch talking, Smyth, but I'm beginning to understand why the Senate Committee was so keen to get rid of you. You should probably find your way to an exit door soon or I won't be responsible for any consequences."

Smyth looked slowly around the room at the stony faces glaring back at him, before turning to the door saying "Until we meet again, children."

"Oh, and Austin?" Smyth turned back to glare at Paul. "Before you plan on stirring up too much trouble from over at State Department, don't forget that this team and department has recently acquired Senator Adams as a very grateful and powerful friend. You remember Senator Adams? Did you know he was college roommates with the President?"

Smyth blenched slightly at the implications of what Paul had just gently pointed out. Without another word, he turned and stalked out of the office and across the bullpen. There was a long silence as they all watched him go before Lee turned back to Billy and shrugged.

"Plausible deniability," he repeated.

Billy sat back down in his chair and leaned back, blowing out his breath in a long whistle. "I guess I should be grateful. But now I'm ticked off and I don't have anyone to be mad at!" He turned suddenly to Francine "Except you! You figured all this out and didn't think to mention it to me?"

Francine was startled by the sudden attack bur came back with a ready answer. "Oh come on Billy! For all I knew, you did know and you weren't telling _me_! You didn't tell me when Lee faked his death or faked burnout, did you?"

Billy slumped back in his chair. "No. Dammit, I hate that you're right." He refocused on Lee and Amanda who were looking at each other in that way they did when they were in the middle of one of their silent conversations. "So how long?"

"Ten months" they answered in chorus. Even Francine looked surprised at the answer.

"Ten months? You've hidden this for ten _months_? I knew you two were good but seriously? All this time I thought you'd finally done it because of Amanda getting shot." She stopped suddenly as the penny dropped. "Ten months? You got married last February? That's why you were in California."

Billy grimaced at the expression on Lee's face while Francine spoke. He'd crossed the room to drop one hand protectively on Amanda's shoulder and her hand had come up to cover his as they watched their friend putting the pieces together.

"Oh my God, that's awful." Francine finished on a whisper.

Amanda grimaced "As honeymoon go, it did kind of suck, as the boys would say." There was a long silence before she went on. "So, um, sir, are you all done being mad at us yet?"

Billy looked towards the back of the room at his wife who was smiling at him. What was it he'd told them last year? "When we find what we're looking for, we should hold onto it with all our strength?" Jeanie's eyes started to twinkle as she watched the expressions cross his face. "Come on darlin'. Paul and I have another ten bucks riding on your reaction."

Billy couldn't help it, he started to laugh. Just a bit at first but when he looked back at the hopeful expressions on Lee and Amanda's faces, he started to laugh harder, and when Paul handed Jeanie another $10 bill, he gave way to full body guffaws. He couldn't resist one last dig though.

"I'm done being mad, Scarecrow, but you do have to do one more thing before you're completely off the hook."

Lee looked visibly relieved. "Anything, Billy."

"You have to complete all the paperwork for Human Resources before December 31st, fully backdated so that everything is legal in your files. I should make you do it tonight, but even I'm not mad enough at you to make you stay late on Christmas Eve."

"No problem!"

"And you have to do it without any help from Amanda," he finished and then started to laugh again at the look of horror on Scarecrow's face.

**SMK**SMK**SMK**SMK**

To be continued


	4. More Cats

**More cats**

Amanda and Lee pulled into the driveway on Maplewood Drive within seconds of each other.

"Well that went better than I thought it would. "

"Oh sure, it went swimmingly once you figured out what to say." Amanda rolled her eyes at him. "Lucky for you Francine managed to say it for you."

"And you were so helpful. 'Senior agent gets the bad jobs' – how long have you been waiting to use that one?"

"Oh, a long, long time" Amanda's eyes twinkled at him. "Revenge is a dish best served cold after all."

""So when are we telling the family?"

"Well we can't tell them we've been married since February. Mother would be so hurt and the boys are still too young to hear anything except that we've been lying to them. It was bad enough seeing Billy's face when he found out and he's known about us all along."

"Agreed. So we just need to figure out a good time for me to propose to you?"

Amanda chuckled as he stopped her by the back door and drew her in for a kiss. "There's no bad time for me to hear you propose to me again, sweetheart. But my mother would enjoy getting to see it this time and having her sister here to witness it will be the icing on the Christmas cake."

"Well, you know I'll do anything to make your mother happy."

The boys turned from their positions on the sofa with expectant faces as they walked into the house. Lee felt it necessary to explain why he was walking in empty-handed, knowing they were hoping for that game system. "Don't look so disappointed to see me, guys. I got you something. It's just that we stayed later at the office than I expected so I'll bring them tomorrow when I come back for the day." He slid into the chair beside them and stretched out, still luxuriating in the fact that he no longer needed to hide out in the backyard.

Jamie looked a bit disappointed at his explanation. "So you're not spending the night here?"

It was hard to say who looked the most startled at Jamie's question. Amanda's eyes went wide and Dotty and Lillian both began shaking with laughter. "That's a good question, Lee" said Dotty in an innocent tone. "Aren't you going to spend the night?"

"Uh, I wasn't planning on it. The place is kind of full with your sister here as well. I don't think I'd fit all that well on the sofa and don't you think I'd kind of be in the way?"

"Well, wouldn't you just be in Mom's room?" Philip asked. "Carrie always stays in Dad's room when we're there and she doesn't get in the way."

Lee could actually feel his eyes bulging out of their sockets now. He looked at Amanda who just smiled and mouthed "Senior Agent" at him from across the room. "Well, uh, that's different because Carrie and your dad are married."

"Well they are now, but even before then, she always stayed in Dad's room. It just doesn't make much sense for you to go all the way home tonight and then have to come back in the morning when you could just stay here," explained Philip breezily. Lee could see a look on Amanda's face that didn't bode well for Joe when he came by tomorrow.

"Maybe you could just get us that for Christmas" said Jamie quietly.

"Get you what?" asked Lee faintly, feeling like he had completely lost control of this conversation.

"As our Christmas present, do you think you and Mom could get married again but with us there this time?'

Lee couldn't even begin to imagine later what his face must have looked like at that moment, but he knew it must have been something very like Amanda's look of complete shock. Dotty had been in mid-sip when Jamie had asked, and was now coughing hard enough that Lee was actually concerned for her. Even Aunt Lillian was stunned into silence. As he got up and walked over to go check on Dotty and pat her helplessly on the back, it was left to Amanda to answer the unanswerable as she walked over to sit beside Jamie on the sofa.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart? What makes you think Lee and I are married?"

"That's my girl" thought Lee. "Answer a question with a question."

Jamie was now looking embarrassed and slightly guilty, but so was Philip, Lee realized.

"Way to go wormbrain" muttered Philip.

"Aren't you? We found that picture of you getting married when we were looking for..." Jamie really did look guilty now.

"Looking for what? Your Christmas presents? James Joseph King, you are far too old to be sneaking around trying to find your Christmas presents." Even Lee knew Jamie was in real trouble now that the full name was being brought out, but the agent in him couldn't help but admire the way Amanda was completely deflecting the conversation away from their wedding photos.

"Well I am now, but two years ago I wasn't!" Jamie was backpedalling now, worried by the expression on his mother's face.

Lee was so startled by the answer that he found himself speaking. "Two years ago? Two years ago we weren't -"

"-Even dating" finished Amanda quickly before he could implicate them even further. She was starting to get an inkling of what might be going on and what Jeanie had been trying to tell her back in Billy's office. "Jamie, what picture are you talking about?"

"The one in the attic in the box with all the stuff from your old boyfriends."

"Stuff from my old boyfriends?"

"Yeah, in the box behind that big panda you got when you were dating Dean. There's the football from Sandy Newcombe and the Christmas card from Robert and a bunch of stuff from Germany and the picture of you guys getting married. You know the one, you're in a big poofy dress and a veil and Lee's in a tux."

By now the shoe had dropped for Lee as well, but he was still confused by one item on Jamie's list. "Who's Robert?"

"Skip's uncle" answered Amanda laughing at him. "What can I say? He really liked me!" She turned back to Jamie. "Sweetheart, that picture of me and Lee isn't from a real wedding. We're dressed up for a project we were working on that year, but we weren't really married." A thought struck her. "Wait a minute, you hadn't even met Lee two years ago. Why didn't you say anything back then?"

"Well, the first time I saw it, I thought that it was for a costume party or something, but then that was the year Dad came home and I thought maybe you were going to get back together and then you didn't and then I remembered the picture and when I went and looked at it again, the guy looked like the guy from the gym that day that other guy tried to take me and Philip, so then I started wondering if maybe he was your boyfriend and that's why he was there that day and then you went away with Lee when he was in trouble and then afterwards he was hanging around the house a lot more and you seemed really happy and when I showed Philip the picture, we thought you both looked happy in it like you do now and so we figured maybe you were already married."

"All that in one breath" was all Lee could say, as he started to laugh. "He's definitely your kid!"

Amanda was still intent on getting the whole story out of Jamie. "So you've spent the last two years thinking we were secretly married and never said a word? Why wouldn't you come and ask one of us about it?"

It was Philip who answered this time. "Because we figured you were waiting to see if Lee liked us first."

Lee's laughter stopped abruptly. "You what?"

"Well, if you'd married Mom and hadn't even met us yet, we thought maybe you were waiting to see if you liked us first, so if you didn't, you could get back out of it without upsetting Grandma. Dad got engaged to Carrie without us ever really getting to know her, but Dad didn't have parents who'd care if he got divorced again."

Amanda had dropped her head into her hands at this latest revelation. Lee was feeling equally stunned.

"You guys thought we were married but we weren't telling you because _I_ had to get used to _you_ first?" Both boys nodded. Lee started to laugh helplessly and realized that Amanda was also rocking back and forth trying to control her giggles. Finally he managed to get himself under control enough to say "Your logic was good but you got it all backwards. Any marriage with your mother was always going to be based on whether you guys were willing to get used to me, not the other way around."

Jamie and Philip were silent for a minute, then exchanged a silent look before turning back to Lee and their mother. "Okay, so when are you getting married then?" asked Jamie.

"Jamie! You can't ask them that!" yelped Dotty.

"Why not? We like him, he likes us, him and Mom are all lovey-dovey."

"Because I'm her mother and that's my job," answered Dotty with a smile. "So Lee darling, when are you going to marry my daughter?"

"I'm still working up the nerve to ask her mother's permission. She might say no," hedged Lee with a straight face although the dimples suggested he was not having an easy time keeping it that way.

"I've met her mother. I think she'll be fine with it." Aunt Lillian was not above getting into the fun apparently.

"I can think of someone else who might have an opinion on this. Has anyone asked if I want to get married?" Every head turned to look at Amanda who was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed, fingers drumming and a mock expression of annoyance on her face. Lee was hard pressed not to laugh out loud at the expression on the boys' faces.

"Moooommmm!", they whined in unison.

"Aw come on, Amanda. You have to marry me – it's the only thing Jamie asked for Christmas."

"The only thing Philip asked for is to drive your Corvette to school. Are you going to give him that too?" The rest of the room had faded away as the two of the laughed with each other at the situation they found themselves in.

"Maybe. Depends on whether his mother agrees to marry me."

"Mooooommmm!" It was hard to tell what Philip was begging for now.

"You're not playing fair, Stetson"

"Nobody ever promised you fair, Amanda". Lee had walked over to where she was sitting and pulled her to her feet before dropping to one knee. "I will promise to try and make you happy for the rest of your life though. Will you marry me? For real this time?" Only Amanda understood what he really meant by the second question. And only Lee knew the emotion behind the way she answered.

"Oh yeah, I'll marry you." He stood back up to take her in his arms, both of them grinning with delight at how unexpectedly this whole day had gone for them.

Dotty squealed and ran across the room to envelop them both in a hug. "Finally! Now when are we planning the wedding for?"

"What day is Valentine's Day next year?" asked Lee, never taking his eyes off Amanda's.

Jamie raced for the kitchen calendar and shouted back, "It's on a Sunday!"

"Oh well that will never work," said Amanda shaking her head in mock sorrow. "We might not be able to get the Monday off work to recover."

"How about the 13th then?" said Lee, lips twitching. "That way, we'll always have two days in a row to celebrate."

"And you'll have no excuse for forgetting our anniversary" added Amanda laughing up at him.

"That's not much time to plan a big wedding" said Dotty doubtfully.

"Mother, I did the big wedding once. This time I just need you and the boys and Aunt Lillian."

"And me" added Lee.

"And you" agreed Amanda. "Maybe a few friends. We owe them that."

"Well, that's a lovely idea. It will be so nice to meet some of the people from your office finally" said Dotty as she walked back to the kitchen to grab the calendar, already in planning mode, followed by Aunt Lillian.

Lee's eyes twinkled down at her before he leaned down to place his lips close to her ear so he couldn't be overheard. Her eyes flew open at what he said next: "And how is the junior agent going to explain having that awful Agent Melrose at our wedding?"

Amanda began to laugh helplessly into his shoulder before whispering back. "Well, we have two months to figure that out. It could just be a major coincidence that he's married to that nice lady they met at the hospital that night but otherwise I'm sure we can manage to have a threat to national security at our wedding that would necessitate his attendance."

Lee started laughing as well. "If anybody can, we can. Merry Christmas Mrs. Stetson."

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Stetson."


End file.
